5 former WWE World Champions who haven't won a top title in the last 5 yearsÂ
The WWE Championship is one of the most prestigious title belts in the history of this business. Every Superstar who makes their way to WWE has one goal in their mind: to someday get that major push and win the big one. A long string of WWE greats has won the title over the past several decades. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Shawn Michaels are just a handful of big names who have held World title gold in WWE.
When a Superstar wins and eventually loses the WWE title, the only thing in their mind is to get back to the top and reclaim the prize. Many Superstars manage to do it, but there's also a long list of wrestlers who fail to win the belt again. In the following slideshow, we will take a look at 5 former WWE World Champions, who haven't won a World title in the past 5 years.
#5 Rey Mysterio (won his last World title in WWE nine years ago)
Rey Mysterio's first World title win came at WrestleMania 22, where he defeated Randy Orton and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match to win the gold. Mysterio would later win a WWE title, as well as another World title. In mid-2011, CM Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE title at Money In The Bank. Punk would leave WWE with the top belt on his shoulder, which prompted Vince McMahon to introduce another WWE title.
A tournament was held on Monday Night RAW to determine the new WWE Champion, with Mysterio defeating Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth to advance to the finals. Mysterio met The Miz in the finals of the tournament, and ended up defeating the former WWE Champion to win his first WWE title. Mysterio's reign, unfortunately didn't last long. He lost the WWE Championship to John Cena on the same night. Ever since then, Rey Mysterio hasn't won a single World title in WWE. He is currently a mainstay on WWE RAW. Mysterio and his son Dominik are feuding with Seth Rollins. Dominik and Mysterio competed in a Tag Team match at Payback, in a winning effort against Rollins and Murphy.